Estes Park News

Estes Park school board votes to demolish old elementary school

Money approved; project to begin at end of school year in 2014

By Juley Harvey

Trail-Gazette

Posted:
06/25/2013 02:16:26 PM MDT

It's out with the old; in with the demo'ed. The Estes Park R-3 school board voted 3-2 to approve Cornerstone Engineering's project for a full demolition of the old elementary school building, to start at the end of the 2014 school year. The bid cost of $434,000 will be placed into the 2013-2014 school budget. It remains good for one year. The board only voted on demolition, not on new construction. Voting against the motion were board members Dr. Marie C. Richardson and Patricia Wedan.

Richardson asked why we should do the project now. She argued there are no plans in place for an area to accommodate swim meets or where young children can play in the winter. The demolition option does not include teh Aquatic Center attached to the elementary building. It will remain in service.

Additionally, she said other groups may be planning uses for that building and asked how a demolition will affect such plans. Wedan wanted to nail down that the board is saying this is what they will do next year. Other board members said they can always change their minds later, but have the money approved now to go ahead may save up to $40,000. Richardson said that, if it came to another vote, her decision would remain the same. Board president Todd Jirsa said, by approving the project, they are making a deal with the construction company to move ahead with the demolition project.

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Jirsa added that the board has been wrestling with the old elementary school demo devil since 2004. Various committees and individuals have come before the board for the last eight or nine years, offering various solutions but no money, he said. They come with plans and "we never hear from them again. We should've torn (the building) down then."

Instead, he said the district continued to minimally maintain it, as a last-ditch effort. But, he added, the "building is not good enough." He called it a "dump" and said it is a personal embarrassment to provide that kind of facility for kids. Not providing any facility is a better alternative and it was a mistake not to tear it down in 2005, he said. The only reason the board didn't decide to do it then was people in the community said they wanted to use it for other purposes.

School superintendent Patrick Hickey said that everyone wanted to use the facility, but no one wanted to pay for it. There was no money to take care of it, people didn't want to pay to rent it, they wanted free usage and the district is incapable of providing free space forever. Those who wanted to use it did not have the financial wherewithal to offer the district.

Kerry Prochaska, of Cornerstone Engineering, addressed the board members at their work session before the regular board meeting, explaining some details. He said his company had taken on the reconstruction of St. Malo after the fire there and the project has been very successful. With 80 to 85 percent of the materials recycled, he said it is similar to the process they will be using at the old elementary school. Asbestos materials need to be disposed of properly, even if the board decided to do nothing, he said.

Board member Tony Paglia asked whether the building is worth saving. Officials seemed to agree it has been bandaged as far as it can be, and it would be necessary to replace the roof and HVAC system.

Prochaska said, after performing a walkthrough of the building, it was "pretty amazing how quickly it had deteriorated and how decrepit it is."

Another Cornerstone engineer agreed that the building is like a maze, and is "leaking all over the place. There are from 6 to 10 places where water is pouring in. Algae is growing. There is mold in the art room. The building is in poor condition."

Is there more mold now? It hasn't abated, and where water is leaking in, the mold will propagate in those areas, Prochaska said.

Skyler Rorabaugh, executive director of the recreation district, told the board that, if the old elementary school is demolished, the recreation district would have to contact firms with which they have been dealing, to get proposals on possibly creating a community center on that property. The proposals are due July 3. Although he said the district is trying to move aggressively, it would probably be the fall of 2014 before they would make a decision.

Paglia said it is time to do something with the building and the school board is here to support education and not necessarily recreation. It is the school board's responsibility, he said. Hickey said that, while there is money in the fund balance, there are probably political consequences to any choice the board makes. However, the district does have the resources and will not be penniless, he assured the board.

Jirsa said there will never be a time when the district is not concerned about money.

"We are always in a financial crisis. We're a school," Jirsa said.

Paglia added that it's been eight years of people telling the district "we have options." Is the district ready to tear the building down? "I'm ready," he said.

Student representative to the board Michael Ryan said the students would rather see the building go, if there is a better future possible.

Could the issue of whether to demolish the old building be a ballot issue? It could, said Hickey, but that would abdicate the responsibility of the board to make that decision.

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